Thursday, January 22, 2009

Lunchtime Fieldtrip Thursday: Cincinnati Nature Center

Today I headed over to the Cincinnati Nature Center at about 11:30. When I got out of the car, it felt like spring! It was 48 degrees, much better than last Thursday’s fieldtrip of 10 degrees. I stopped in the Rowe Visitor Center to see if anything exciting had been sighted and a very nice gentleman reported he had seen a Hermit Thrush and a Bald Eagle flying over with a a fish! He had spotted the Hermit Thrush on the trail over by the Raptor, Inc. property, so that's where I headed. Unfortunately, the thrush was no where to be found when I made my way through the woods, but I didn’t care. The trail was beautiful in the sunshine, and the pseudo-spring weather was amazing. The warmth was misleading though, because beneath my feet, snow still remained,

…and it covered the hillsides and branches too, but the moss steady as ever, stayed green and peeped through.

An evergreen vine overhead really made it seem like spring was just around the corner. I don’t know what type of vine it was, but my guess is Trumpeter Honeysuckle. I'll ask the naturalist about it the next time I'm there.

…and then right before I was getting ready to leave I stopped in the bird blind and saw this happy yellow guy.

Yesterday at my house, I thought the goldfinches seemed to be getting a little brighter…a little more ready for spring, but then decided I was imagining it. But there is no doubt now. This fellow is definitely a little more yellow than the goldfinches were last week. So maybe spring is just around the corner!

My Camera and Lenses

I hand hold the camera for all my photos (I used to use a monopod or tripod for distance and macro, but the VR lenses don't seem to require it). I crop the images down in Aperture (I'm a Mac).

The Story Behind "Red and the Peanut"

Red and the Peanut is named after my first bird memory. When I was about six, I was at my Great Aunt Mary's house and she was telling me about Red and the peanut. "Red" was a Northern Cardinal that had trained Aunt Mary to feed it peanuts on demand. Since Aunt Mary's "Red" started it all, what better name could I choose?